Letters: Elected officials must obey the law

Elected officials must obey the law

Recently several Florida public School Districts willfully violated state law. Floridians enacted a constitutional amendment limiting class-sizes, and in 2010, an attempted modification was defeated.

Voters have twice spoken; they want small class sizes, and elected leaders must follow the law - whether or not they agree with such laws personally.

School funding is equalized, and no district is fully funded for compliance with class size; ironically, the state's "penalty" for noncompliance actuallyincentivizes disobedience! The "penalty" takes a chunk of money from, then rebates the lion's share right back to, these noncompliant districts - after such districts pencil-whip a promise to "do better."

It's a farce and unfair to districts that comply.

Here's a solution: Instead of a toothless "penalty" for noncompliant districts (whether they overtly disobey, or whether, like others locally, they "tried" but could not meet the mandate - saving $1.1 million and paying the $54,000 penalty) - don't penalize offending districts financially.

Instead, penalize the offending district superintendent and School Board members 10 percent of their salary until they "try harder" and actually comply! This way, students and taxpayers of offending districts are not punished for the compliance failures of their elected leaders.

- Jeff Bergosh

Pensacola

Empty suit

Would you apply for a job with, invest in or buy product from an organization which had 33 percent of its workforce nonessential?

Would you apply for a job with, invest in or buy product from an organization whose board of directors, i.e., the U.S. Congress, has only a 10 percent approval rating?

Would you vote for a president of an organization who was in charge of a $7 trillion - going to $10 trillion - debt on the children of today; and who sent out jack-booted thugs to attack the political components and to spy on us? Would you vote for a president who lied about Fast and Furious, Benghazi and Obamacare?

Did you vote for a president who violated the Constitution on Afghanistan and Iraq and who put out the unconstitutional Patriot Act?

Would you? If so, shame shame. Where has Rep. Jeff Miller been on any of these items? Is he an empty suit or evil?